Why is the Day of Judgement Known As ‘The Day of Regret’?

This article is based on a short talk was given by Sheikh Mohammed Al-Hilli at a cemetery on 19 March 2016.

In our day-to-day discussion, we often use the term “I wish”. It may be in the context of a missed business opportunity, an item to purchase, a meeting with an individual, or any other once-in-a-lifetime chances. We may sit there and reflect on a chance that has passed.

The powerful feeling of regret

Of course, the most regretful situation a human being will face is the Day of Judgement. In fact, one of the names of the Day of Judgement mentioned in the Holy Quran is “Yawm Al-Hasra” (The Day of Regret). The Arabic phrase for “I wish” used in the Quran is “Ya Laytani”. The phrase is mentioned on 9 occasions in the Quran. For example (Sahih International Translations):

“And the Day the wrongdoer will bite on his hands [in regret] he will say, “Oh, I wish I had taken with the Messenger a way.”

The Holy Quran – 25:27

“Indeed, We have warned you of a near punishment on the Day when a man will observe what his hands have put forth and the disbeliever will say, “Oh, I wish that I were dust!”

The Holy Quran – 78:40

How powerful their feeling of regret must be if the wishful thinking of this person is that they wish their creation was inanimate dust or soil rather than a human being with life. In another verse we are told:

“No! When the earth has been leveled – pounded and crushed. And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank. And brought [within view], that Day, is Hell – that Day, man will remember, but what good to him will be the remembrance? He will say, “Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life.”

The Holy Quran 89:21-14

This excerpt from Al-Fajr, tells us that the human being – when Hellfire is brought within view and they will see it – will collectively have an overwhelming realisation and will ‘remember’, as if we had known about it all along, but we just didn’t want to believe in it or we chose to forget it.

There is a linguistic delicacy in the final phrase used in Verse 24 of the above; the Quran doesn’t say the human being will say “I wish I prepared something for my akhira (hereafter)”. The Quran says we will actually say “I wish I had prepared for my life”. In scholars’ exegesis, they say that in these verses Allah (swt) is saying the real life is actually akhira… i.e. our real existence is on the Day of Judgement.

“Know that the life of this world is but amusement and diversion… And what is the worldly life except the enjoyment of delusion.”

The Holy Quran, 57:20

This view is supplemented by other verses in the Quran that describe dunya (this life) as amusement and play, and the akhira as the hayawan (the real or true life).

“And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.”

The Holy Quran, 29:64

Numerous other Quranic verses talk about the shortness in the duration of dunya compared to akhira as well.

Reflecting on the above verses

Reflecting on the above verses brings us to an important conclusion:

• In the dunya that we are currently in, we will face countless opportunities – but there are always ways that we can rectify what we may have missed/enacted change.
• However according to the Quran, on the Day of Judgement, it will not be possible to rectify.
• Instead, we will only be able to stand there and say “Ya Laytani” (I wish), but any attempt to rectify will be fruitless.

Many of us know this already, but we forget that in this world, we have the chance to erase the wrong actions that we will later regret and to enact change – to press the proverbial “delete” button – but in akhira, we will unfortunately not.

This article was originally published here.